U.S. Gunboat Diplomacy Will Only Embolden China
Trump's aggression in Latin America has given a powerful boost to Beijing in the Pacific.
In recent decades, China adopted a muscular approach to the Pacific Ocean, prompting other countries to sound the alarm over Beijing's pushy new attitude toward the region.
China's tactics included building artificial islands from dredged sand for use as military outposts to enforce its control over the South China Sea, where it pressed legally and historically dubious claims to outright ownership.
Beijing's pushy new attitude toward a region full of much smaller and weaker countries.
Author's summary: U.S. aggression boosts China's power.